"26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:26-28)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Aspects of Genuine Repentance

Aspects of
Genuine Repentance

Dear Father,

You are the Giver of
every perfect gift, yes, even the gift of repentance that You grant to Your
children again and again. When our affections have temporarily turned aside, we
were weak and powerless, and yet You have caused us to see a glimpse of the
coming judgment, a glimpse of the old man, and a glimpse of Your Son. And it
has caused us to cling to You, to draw near to You, and to know that You have
drawn near to us. Yes, the great serpent has flown from us and we have flown to
Your Son. We could not repent. We could not repent. But what was impossible for
men, You have accomplished by Your Spirit on the basis of the atoning blood of
Your Son.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

1.Destruction
of Self

Genuine repentance includes the changing
of the mind regarding self, that is, the old self. As the soul of the repentant
prophet sees the righteousness of the Lord, he cries out “Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Is 6:5). The
inherent problem with the unsaved man is that he constantly seeks to justify
his soul. Men are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law
written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts
alternately accusing or else defending them (Rom 2:14). They seek to justify
self, to defend self, to acquit self, to make restitution for self, to exalt
self, to give pleasure to self, to preserve self, to protect self, to glorify
self…and all this is apart from Christ. But the role of God’s Law is to be the
tutor that leads the chosen ones to Christ (Gal 3:24). Once the unsaved man was
“alive”
according to his own perception of the state of his soul. He thought there was
worth and goodness in him for he was apart from the Law. But when the
commandment came, sin became alive in him and he died for sin, taking an
opportunity through the commandment, deceived him and through it killed him.
(Rom 7:9-11). But acknowledgement of one’s own wretchedness is not equivalent
to the destruction of self that is an aspect of genuine repentance unless it
includes the sorrow that is according to the will of God which produces a
repentance without regret, leading to salvation. For the sorrow of the world
produces death. (2 Cor 7:10) But true repentance occurs when His people are
united with Christ in the likeness of His death (Rom 6:5). Not only do they see their complete moral depravity, but they see the
Savior as having borne that very depravity and the guilt, shame, and
condemnation that is due it. This is the saving accompanier to the
acknowledgement of self-depravity: the uniting with Christ in the likeness of
His death. The repentant soul sees his sinful nature as crucified with Christ.
At the same time that he cries out “I am
lost!”, he sees his very depravity as borne by the perfect Lamb of God. He
sanctifies the Name of the Holy One of Jacob and stands in awe of the God of
Israel. Though he erred in mind, he will know the Truth. Though he criticized
he will accept instruction. (Is 29:23-24) For the Lord God, the Holy One of
Israel has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is
your strength” (Is 30:15) In order to truly repent, the man must see
his soul, all of his old nature, or with regard to the converted person, the
remnant thereof, as worthy of condemnation. For Christ has not come to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32).

“Woe is me, for I am ruined”!

2.Awareness
of Blindness

Likewise, another aspect of genuine repentance
is the awareness of one’s own blindness apart from the enlightening by the Son.
For though he is blind, the unrepentant lost man claims to have sight. Jesus
said that if the people were blind, they would have no sin; but since they say
that they see, their sin remains (John 9:41). All unregenerate men are not only
blind, but they claim to their own souls and to the world around them that they
can see. In their case the god of this world has blinded their minds so that
they might not see the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God (2 Cor 4:4). To truly repent, one must call out, “I cannot see! Lord that I may receive sight!” Jesus said that for judgment He came into the world, so that those who
do not see may see, and those who see may become blind (Luke 9:39). For
those who saw themselves to be worthy in their own eyes did not heed the
invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb. And so He has told His slaves to
go at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and
crippled and blind and lame (Luke 14:21).

Who is among you that
fears the Lord,
That obeys the voice of His servant,
That walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Is
50:10

“Lord that I might see!”

3.The
Warning of Coming Wrath

Another aspect of true repentance is a heeding of God’s warning
concerning the coming judgment. For the Spirit has come and convicts the world
concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged (John 16:8,
11). John the Baptist warned the people to flee from the wrath to come, and to
bear fruit in keeping with repentance. For the axe is already laid at the root
of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. (Luke 3:7-9) Similarly when Peter told the people to
repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins,
to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the promise for as many as the Lord
would call to Himself, he used many other words to solemnly testify and exhort them
saying, “Be saved from this perverse
generation”. (Acts 2:38-40) This “fleeing from wrath” involves the
fleeing from immorality, from idolatry, from the love of money, and from
youthful lusts (1 Cor 6:18, 1 Cor 10:14, 1 Tim 6:11, 2 Tim 2:22). For because
of these God’s wrath is coming. With regard to the regenerate man who has fallen
into sin, the same warning of the coming judgment is effective to lead him forward
on the straight way for he acknowledges that the very fleshly desires he faces
are waging war against his soul and seek to destroy the very new life that he
has been granted (1 Pet 2:11). His Father reminds him that there is a point of
no return. For just as afterwards Esau desired to inherit the blessing, he was
rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with
tears (Heb 12:17). And in the case of those who have once been enlightened and
have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy
Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come,
and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance,
since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open
shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth
vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, received a
blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and
close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. (Heb 6:4-8) The fear of
God does involve conviction of the coming judgment, and fleeing to take hold of
Christ, the refuge and Anchor. But a fear of hell is not enough, the man
must take hold of Christ. He must truly repent.

“I must escape the coming
wrath!”

4.Acknowledgment
of Incompetency to Elicit One’s Own Repentance

There comes a point in the lives of some
unregenerate men when they sees that unless they repent they will perish. The
rich young ruler wanted to earn eternal life through his good deeds, only to
realize by Christ’s Words that in order to follow Christ he needed to have a
complete reversal of his mindset and heart condition. He had to repent. His
inability to sell all of his wealth and give it to the poor was due to his
inherent unwillingness. He went away sad, knowing he required such a deep
repentance, and yet knowing he was unable to elicit such repentance within
himself. Often lost men come to the point of being condemned by the Law of God
within their own souls, and yet find themselves unable to elicit true
repentance. For true repentance is not a choice or decision of man. It is
impossible for him to repent. But what is impossible for men is possible with
God. God brings about repentance. And
thus the repentant sinner acknowledges his incompetency to have repented
without God’s enablement. He believes Christ’s Words that no one can come to
Him unless it has been granted him from the Father (John 6:65). And yet he
acknowledges the nature of the Son to shine upon those who sit in darkness and
the shadow of death, to guide their feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79). And
his response is to watch expectantly for the Lord, the God of his salvation. He
knows that his God will hear him. He tells his enemy not to rejoice over him.
For though he falls he will rise; though he dwells in darkness, the Lord is a
light for him. He bears the indignation of the Lord because he had sinned
against Him, until He pleads his case and executes justice for him. He knows
that God will bring him out into the light of Christ, and he will again see His
righteousness. (Mic 7:7-9). Even when a converted person falls into sin, he
seeks the Lord and waits upon him to grant him the gift of repentance. He knows
that his Good Shepherd will capture his heart and that if he did not he would
be damned. He knows with his God there is forgiveness and restoration and thus
he fears God (Ps 130:4).

“Only He can help me to repent!”

5.The
Allurement in the Desert

Often there is a desert that the sinner
finds himself in where he is parched and in which his soul draws near the grave.
The sin that once enthralled his eyes and the objects of the desires of the
flesh no longer bring him pleasure. His lovers have turned against him and he
dwells in darkness. Even a straying Christian, as he keeps silent about his sin,
his body wastes away through his groaning all day long. For day and night God’s
hand was heavy upon him; his vitality was drained away as with the fever heat
of summer. Finally the one who had sinned acknowledged his sin to God, and did
not hide his iniquity. He says that he will confess his transgression to the
Lord. And God forgives the guilt of his sin. (Ps 32:3-5) For in the desert, God allures His people. He brings her into the
wilderness and speaks kindly to her. (Hos 2:14). He betroths her to Himself
forever in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness, compassion, and
faithfulness. Then they will know the Lord! (Hos 2:18-20) Thus the true sons do
not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when they are reproved
by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son
whom He receives. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but
sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore they strengthen the hands that are
weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for their feet, so
that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed.
(Heb 12:7-13) Yes, He Himself brings the one who has sinned into the desert.
There in the desert He allures her and speaks kindly to her. This is the
kindness that results in repentance (Rom 2:4).

6 Therefore,
let everyone who is godly pray to You[g]in a time when You may be found;Surelyin a flood of great waters they will
not reach him.7 You aremy hiding place; Youpreserve me from trouble;You
surround me with[h]songs of deliverance.Ps 32

“I wasted away, but He came and
spoke kindly to me!”

6.The Inevitable
Circumcision of the Heart by the Spirit

True repentance is a result of the inevitable
circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. It is inevitable because all those who
God has chosen are objects of His effectual blood and the grace therein. For he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter;
and his praise is not from men, but from God (Rom 2:29). The changing of
the mind and heart that are the essence of genuine repentance occurs not by man’s
reasoning or striving, but by the supernatural work of the Spirit. And once He
has accomplished the work of bringing about our repentance, our reasoning and
striving has become, by His grace, well suited for His purposes. For His New
Covenant is that we shall be His people, and He will be our God. He gives us
one heart and one way, that we may fear Him always, for our own good and for
the good of our children after us. He has made an everlasting covenant with us
that He will not turn away from us, to do us good; and He will put the fear of
Himself in our hearts so that we will not turn away from Him. (Jer 32:38-40).
Once the people of God have repented at the time of conversion, their
repentance has not ended, but rather, it grows and deepens. And when he falls
into sin, the Spirit elicits the very same repentance through the
transformation that occurs by the renewing of the mind with the Truth of the
Gospel. For as we walk with the Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the
flesh. But the Spirit will gain the victory in the lives of God’s people. For
the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are in opposition to one another, so that we do not do the desires of the
flesh, that which is pleasing to the flesh. (Gal 5:16-17) And so He has
enclosed us behind and before, and laid His hand upon us. Such knowledge is too
wonderful for us; it is too high, we cannot attain to it. Where can we go from
His Spirit? Or where can we flee from His presence? If we ascend to heaven, He
is there; if we make our bed in Sheol, behold, He is there. If we take the
wings of the dawn, if we dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there His
hand will lead us, and His right hand will lay hold of us. If we say that
surely the darkness will overwhelm us, and the light around us will be night,
even the darkness is not dark to Him, and even night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to Him. (Ps 139:5-12) Genuine repentance is
inevitable for the true believer, for it is enabled by the Father whose desire
is to conform him to the image of His Son through the indwelling Holy Spirit
who powerfully opposes the sin of the flesh.

“He surely grants the gift of
repentance to me!”

7.The Casting
of Hope, Gaze, and Confidence on Christ

Genuine repentance always involves the casting
of hope, gaze, and confidence on Christ, specifically on His finished work.
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of man
has been lifted up and His people behold Him as being the perfect Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Lord has created a new
thing in the earth—a woman will encompass a man (Jer 31:22). The Bride of
Christ willingly turns to Christ. The ends of the earth turn to the Lord and
are saved (Is 45:22). Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken
away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, behold as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as
from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:15-17) The
Father’s will is that everyone who behold the Son and believes in Him will have
eternal life, and Christ Himself will raise him up on the last day (John
6:40). In addition to the conviction of coming judgment, the genuine repentance
is a willing turning and gazing upon the beauty and incomprehensible love of
Christ.

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a
high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted
in all things as we are, yet without
sin. 16 Therefore
let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4

“Behold, the Lamb of God who
took away my sin!”

8.The
Healing of Apostasy

One evidence of genuine conversion is the
curing of backsliding and faithlessness. When a person claims to have repented
and yet keeps on sinning, it may be questioned whether his heart’s attitude
towards his sin has truly changed. For if the heart’s affections have not
changed, a man will not be able to maintain a lifestyle against his true heart’s
affection. Thus, a man who has not truly repented cannot maintain a life of
love and holiness. Similarly a converted man cannot live a life of sin because
his heart’s affections have changed away from wickedness and towards Christ. The
repentant man takes words with him and returns to the Lord. He asks God to take
away all iniquity and receive him graciously, that he may present the fruit of
his lips. He acknowledges that his previous idols cannot save him. For only in
God the orphans find mercy. And thus God heals their apostasy, and loves them
freely. For His anger has turned away from them. (Hos 14:1-4)

21 A voice is heard on thebare
heights,The
weepingandthe supplications of the sons of Israel;Because
they have perverted their way,They
haveforgotten
theLordtheir God.22 “Return, O faithless sons,I
will heal your faithlessness.”“Behold,
we come to You;For
You are theLordour God.23 “Surely,the hills are a deception,A
tumultonthe mountains.Surely
in theLordour GodIs
the salvation of Israel. Jer 3

“Where else can I go Lord, You
have the Words of Eternal Life”

9.Two Reasons
to Include Repentance in the Core Gospel Message

-Scripture teaches us to tell people to repent
and believe the Gospel. God tells us to repent and live (Ez 18:32). John the Baptist told the
people to repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand and to bear fruit in
keeping with repentance (Matt 3:2,8). When Jesus preached He told people to
repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matt 4:17), and He came to call
sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). When the disciples were sent out, they
preached that men should repent (Mark 6:12). As Peter preached the Gospel on
the day of Pentecost he told the people to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38)
and later he preached that people should repent and return that their sins
would be wiped out (Acts 3:19). As Paul preached to the men of Athens he said
that God is calling all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) and kept declaring both to those of
Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout
all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they
should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance
(Acts 26:20).

-Telling the hearers to bear fruit in keeping with repentance is a gracious
means of examining the genuineness of repentance. For an unconverted person cannot maintain the fruit of repentance. And
thus if a person who professes to be repenting is unwilling or unable to give
up sin to any significant degree, he must examine himself to see if he is in
the faith, and if Christ has been formed in him (2 Cor 13:5, Gal 4:19). Though
repentance is not perfect, it is genuine and results in the renouncing of known
wickedness. It will surely deepen and grow over time resulting with greater
measures of holiness and love in the believer.

Those whom I love, I
reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Rev 3:19

“Yes, it was His grace that my fellow man told me to
repent and believe in the Gospel!”

10.An
Excellent Passage on Repentance

17 “There ishope for your future,” declares theLord,“Andyourchildren will return
to their own territory.18 “I have surely heard Ephraimgrieving,‘You havechastised me, and I was chastised,Like an untrainedcalf;Bring me back that I may be restored,For You are theLordmy God.19 ‘For after I turned back, Irepented;And after I was instructed, Ismote onmythigh;I wasashamed and also humiliatedBecause I bore the reproach of my youth.’20 “IsEphraim My dear son?Is he a delightful child?Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,I certainlystillremember him;Therefore My[j]heart
yearns for him;I will surelyhave mercy on him,” declares theLord.

21 “Set up for yourself
roadmarks,Place for yourself guideposts;Direct your[k]mind
to the highway,The way by which you went.Return, O virgin of Israel,Return to these your cities. Jer 31

About Me

In the Scriptures the Shepherd’s eternal Covenant is a cutting out of His people from all that is devoted to destruction as they approach Him through His flesh and by His blood, a passing through of God’s presence among His people just as the smoking oven and flaming torch passed through the torn pieces of flesh that Abraham offered (Gen 15:12-16), the binding or marriage of two parties, that is, the reconciliation of Christ and His church, and the creation of a new kingdom and people, whose souls are perfected. We were dead in trespasses and sins, just as Abraham fell into a deep sleep and great terror and darkness came upon him, and God has established His Covenant by the strength of His own righteous arm (Eph 2:1, Gen 15:12).